Some say Israel has dragged the United States into the war on the Iranian regime. You know who they are, on the left and on the right. The Iranian regime has inarguably been at war with both Israel and the United States over the past 47 years. The combined American/Israeli response is overdetermined and overdue. So whose war is it anyway?
In his Ask Haviv Anything podcast yesterday, Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur addressed the question:
As missile sirens wail over Jerusalem and families crowd into bomb shelters on the eve of Purim, this episode steps back from the noise and the slogans to ask a harder question: What war are we actually watching? In a moment when pundits argue over Israel, regime change, and partisan loyalties, I lay out a different frame — two chessboards, one regional and one global — and argue that what looks like another Middle Eastern conflagration is in fact a pivotal move in a far larger US–China confrontation. If we misunderstand that, we will misunderstand everything that follows: America’s resolve, Iran’s desperation, and the shape of the world that may emerge from this fire.
This episode could have been more concise. He may not be right. Regardless, I learned things I didn’t know and find it worth my time.
